I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to closures and, more particularly, to a closure for a syringe.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Syringes are commonly used not only for medical applications, but also in non-medical applications, such as glue dispensers and the like. Such syringes typically comprise an elongated housing having a tubular neck at one end. A needle or dispensing tip is typically attached to the syringe neck so that the contents of the syringe are dispensed out through the tip or needle. In high pressure applications, the dispensing tip or needle is typically threadably secured to an attachment collar disposed concentrically around the syringe neck whereas a friction or slide fit is oftentimes adequate for low pressure dispensing applications.
Prior to attachment of the syringe needle or dispensing tip, e.g. when the syringe is shipped or stored, it has been previously known to attach a cap to the syringe tip to prevent leakage of the contents of the syringe. These previously known caps, however, have suffered from a number of disadvantages.
One disadvantage of these previously known caps or closures is that the closure fails to maintain an adequate seal with the syringe. Such failure results in leakage of the contents of the syringe during shipping or storage.
A still further disadvantage of these previously known closures is that the closures are relatively small and difficult to manually remove from the syringe. In some cases, it is necessary to use pliers or other tools to remove the tip which can result in damage to the syringe neck. Such damage, in turn, can result in an inadequate seal between the dispensing needle or dispensing tip once attached to the syringe.
A still further disadvantage of the previously known closures for syringes is that such closures fail to protect the syringe from breakage of the syringe neck and/or attachment collar. Breakage of the syringe neck or attachment collar, of course, requires that the syringe be discarded.
A still further disadvantage of these previously known closures for syringes is that such closures do not enable the syringe to be stored vertically on end. As such, these previously known syringes were frequently stored on their side on a bench thus taking up excessive bench space.